1980.To be honest it was a disaster! September is not the time to go, much too humid. The Hotel (which made Fawlty Towers look like The Ritz) had noisy, dirty fans in the rooms. Switch them on and you couldn't sleep because of the noise, switch them off and you couldn't sleep because of the humidity. To cap it all they had trouble with their water supply and we kept getting back to the Hotel covered in sun tan lotion, no water! Not enough cutlery to go round, believe it or not if too many people went to breakfast at the same time there was queueing until spoons etc. had been washed. One good result, Sliema Wanderers were playing Barcelona in the EUFA Cup. At 50p. a ticket we decided to take a chance! During the match Edna said something and I turned to answer her and missed a goal. Result, you've guessed it, 1-0 to Barcelona (she's never been allowed to forget it)! Anyway the island seemed nice and the people seemed friendly so we vowed to go back and give it another chance. We're booked for 2005 (not September). NB: We've recently checked Edna's Journal and the score was 2-0 (for 20 odd years 1-0 made a more interesting story!).

April/May 2005. Five weeks in Malta! The holiday was CHEAP. When we got there we found that the Hotel was cheap and so were our fellow holidaymakers! Maltabargains.com were cheap but their service was extremely good and although the hotel (Palm Beach in Qawra) was very, very basic (for a 3*) it was relatively clean and the food was adequate. OK we changed rooms after a few nights and OK we changed hotels after 3 weeks but, to be honest, for what we paid we had a great deal and, IF YOUR BUDGET IS VERY LIMITED, I'd recommend Maltabargains.com. We moved on to the San Pawl for the last 2 weeks. Slightly more up-market with, however, less choice of food, but the pool area was a great improvement and the bar was a lot more spacey. There was "entertainment" each evening and this seemed to consist of different people with some backing and almost the same repertoire. Wherever you were in the Hotel you couldn't get away from the sound of this high class karaoke. A minus point (although I'm sure some enjoyed it). Still, let's talk about Malta. The weather was awful to start, cold and windy. April is also obviously not the time to go. We had a great time travelling around on the buses and going on excursions. Five weeks didn't seem too long (we thought it was going to be when the weather was bad). The history of Malta is incredible and Valetta is a City that needs a LOT of time to explore. Gozo is beautiful, cleaner than the main island but, obviously, with not so much to see and do. We now want to go again but to stay in Sliema (nearer to Valetta) and in a better class Hotel. Still, let's be honest, we couldn't afford 5 weeks in a better class Hotel! Excellent holiday.

October 2008. Visited Valetta on the Black Sea Melodies cruise. Although we'd had a boat trip around the harbour in 2005 I'd forgotten just how fabulous the cruise into Valetta was, a highlight of the Cruise. Just wandered and had lunch in the City, by the Main Square. Still want to go back to explore the History more.

April 2009. Back again on the Saga Ruby. Not enough time to do anything other than catch a bus into town (we walked last time, this is nicer), wander around and (of course) have a nice lunch.

We loved the Maltese buses but unfortunately they've changed them for more modern ones now.

The George Cross. Malta more than played her part in World War 2.

2008 A lot posher than when we first went there